Who is Right?

How many time have we come across situations where we argue among ourselves and hurt others. Have you ever thought that someone else can be right? If we try to understand what someone else is saying many of our problems can be resolved.

Anil asked his sister, Rita, to get him a coke at dinner. Rita only gave him half a glass as a joke. Anil was very mad and threw a fit saying the glass was half empty. The word empty annoyed Rita, and she screamed back, "No glass is half full." Soon they started fighting. Anil and Rita told their parents why they were screaming. Their mother said, "Both of you are right. Anil is looking at the empty aspect and Rita is looking at its filled aspect." They were both happy when they realized that they were both right.

If we accept the fact that someone else can be right, we can avoid many quarrels. Lord Mahavira said that every thing can be seen from seven different aspects, and there is truth in every aspect. Lord Mahavir's thinking is called Anekäntväd or multiplicity of view points. When we accept this style of thinking, we become tolerant of other views and our life is much happier. This lets different people with different ideologies live together with respect for one other.

So the next time your friend says something which you do not agree with then instead of telling him, "You do not anything," give him a chance to tell his side of the story. You may be surprised and think, "He is right too!"  

Questions:

1) Why did Anil and Rita fight?

2) What did Anil and Rita's mother tell them?

3) What does Anekäntväd mean?

4) How does Anekäntväd help us?